Published: May 16, 2016, 02:17 PM (IST)
Edited: May 16, 2016, 02:17 PM (IST)
Mumbai Indians hero from yesterday’s match against Delhi Daredevils, Krunal Pandya described what was told to him before he went into bat. He was promoted up the order at No.3 and was told to go after the spinners to put pressure back on the opposition camp. Pandya, whose maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) fifty kept Mumbai Indians’ playoffs hopes alive by beating Delhi daredevils by 80 runs, told, “When I went in at No. 3, the message was clear that I had to go (after) the spinners. There were two leg spinners and one left-arm spinner. So, in between Martin helped me a lot, (he) was guiding me. We discussed that, ‘you stay back, play through the innings and I will take the charge. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2016, Match 47 at Visakhapatnam
“That was the plan. When I went inside and played a couple of balls, I said, ‘Martin, I will go.’ On that kind of wicket you need one batsman to play till 15-16 overs so you can lay the foundation for the other players. My job was clear that I have to go there and play my shots,” he explained.
Pandya was able to overcome the challenge of facing quality spinners in Daredevils’ camp and he took a particular liking towards Imran Tahir who ended up with figures of 4-0-59-0, the most expensive figures in IPL history for a spinner, while both Amit Mishra and Shahbaz Nadeem conceded 42 runs apiece.
The elder brother of Hardik Pandya stated that he adapted well to the conditions and stated,”The ball was gripping, it was not coming that easily on to the bat. I picked my spot and I knew the ball was not coming on to the bat. The shots which I played off the spinners (were possible because) I was waiting for it and then trying to finish my shot rather than going on straight away.”
On the other hand, Zaheer Khan lamented on the fact that the left-right combination worked for Mumbai Indians in the form of Pandya and Guptill. He quoted, “I think the left-right combination kind of helped them. When someone plays an innings like that, Pandya just put the pressure back on us. The important thing was the partnership in the middle. We were hoping that our spinners would put the brakes on. Our bowling unit right throughout the tournament has been fantastic, this kind of things happen, it was an off-day for the bowling unit. It’s just about regrouping and going ahead, we still have three games to go,” Zaheer said, when asked about the spinners going for plenty.
The veteran pacer said that they would have been comfortable chasing anything in the vicinity of 150-160 runs but couldn’t execute their plans well. He confirmed that there is no need to worry and they will regroup as they have three more matches to play to qualify for the playoffs. He concluded by adding, “It’s important we focus on what we have been doing, how we’re executing our plans. We will be having our debrief sessions and look at things which we could have done differently.”
